Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 1:31 pm on 16 January 2019.
Well, I think the Member raises a very timely question, given that we've just been through the busiest time of the year for the high street. And what is very apparent is that consumer behaviour continues to change, and many experts believe that we're only half the way thorough the, if you like, revolution that the high street is facing. Against that backdrop, the Welsh Government is able to assist, and is assisting in a number of ways, through rates relief, through the creation of business improvement districts. And I believe we are doubling the number of BIDs, with support offered from the Welsh Government for the creation of many more such interventions. But I think what is also important to note is that the retail sector has now been designated priority status by the Welsh Government, and, as my colleague the Deputy Minister takes forward work on the foundational economy, we'll be looking to test various interventions to support important components of the foundational economy, of course including the retail sector.
What's vitally important is that we also place a renewed focus on quality of place as an attractor for consumers to go into town centres and into the high street. What we've seen in many parts of Wales, parts of the UK and the world, where there are vibrant high streets still, is that those high streets are not just based on the retail sector, on the experience of purchasing goods, but on a wider experience—on the experience of interacting with people, on services that are provided often alongside retail services. And, so, in terms of the regional plans and the place-based economic development programme that we're now taking forward, I believe that the retail sector in Wales has much to look forward to. However, that optimism that I have is set against a universal backdrop of continued consumer behavioural change.